The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a fresh legal turn, as the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Adolphus Wabara, filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the recognition of its interim National Working Committee (NWC).
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 4. Among the plaintiffs are former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, PDP elder Olabode George, former ministers Maryam Ciroma and Zainab Maina, as well as BoT member Esther Uduehi. INEC is the sole defendant in the matter.
The plaintiffs are seeking an order compelling INEC to update its records and publish on its official website the names of the interim NWC members submitted by the PDP’s BoT and National Executive Committee (NEC). They are also asking the court to direct the electoral commission to recognise and engage exclusively with the interim leadership established by the party.
The legal action follows a recent Court of Appeal ruling that overturned key aspects of a Federal High Court judgment delivered in Ibadan, which had recognised a factional caretaker committee within the PDP. In its unanimous judgment on June 3, the appellate court held that the lower court granted reliefs that were not sought by the parties involved in the dispute, thereby exceeding the issues before it.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Aliyu stated that several PDP officials, including former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, were suspended by the party’s NWC in November 2025 over allegations of misconduct, anti-party activities and insubordination. He noted that the suspensions were upheld by subsequent court decisions, while other judgments invalidated the PDP’s November 2025 national convention.
According to Aliyu, the BoT subsequently constituted an interim NWC to manage the affairs of the party pending the conduct of a valid national convention. He maintained that INEC has a constitutional obligation to comply with valid court judgments and recognise the interim leadership.
Aliyu further disclosed that details of the interim committee and its portfolio assignments were formally communicated to INEC through letters sent in May 2026. However, he alleged that the commission has neither updated its records nor acknowledged the interim NWC.
The plaintiffs are seeking declarations that INEC is constitutionally bound to implement and respect judgments of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court relating to the PDP’s internal leadership dispute.
As of the time of filing this report, no judge had been assigned to hear the case.
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